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Bring in Your Catch: Shop Fishing Rods

From a lakeside morning to an outing at the seashore, discover the gear it takes to bring home your next trophy catch.

Your fishing rod is made from materials including bamboo, graphite, fiberglass and composite blends. Materials impact the rodís action and should be designed for your skill level. Explore the collection:

Fiberglass rods: Typically geared towards beginners. These rods need little maintenance, have an average weight and solid rod strength. If you are fishing for larger fish, youíll need a heavy, durable rod.

Graphite rods: Usually preferred by advanced anglers due to their superior strength and lightness. The lightweight graphite handles most fishing situations well, providing more fighting power in the rod.

Bamboo rods: Produces a smooth, fluid back cast which provides its own dampening effect at the end of the back cast, featuring the highest quality built from Tonkin cane.

Buying Tips

Think about your level of fishing experience, environment and game fish when selecting your rod. Fishing rods come in three basic styles: casting/conventional, spinning and surfcasting.

Casting/Conventional Rods: Designed to have the reel and guides on the top, casting rods are effective for anglers looking to cast several hundred times during a fishing trip.

Generally match up best with baitcasting and casting rods.

Most casting rods can handle heavy line and fish in dense cover.

Spinning Rods: Ranges in length from 5 to 8 feet, positioning the reel and guides on the bottom of the pole to provide smooth, accurate casts.

Longer spinning rods with elongated grip handles for two-handing casting are frequently employed for saltwater or steelhead and salmon fishing.

Spinning rods are also widely used for trolling and still fishing with live bait.

The handle length is balanced against the rod's length.

Spin casting rods are rods designed to hold a spin casting reel, which are normally mounted above the handle.

Saltwater Casting/Conventional rods: The reel and line are located on top of the rod, and the trigger grip lets you securely clutch the rod while releasing the thumb bar.

Design: A quick taper at the rod tip for accuracy and a large backbone at the lower portion of the rod for stability.

Saltwater bait-casting rods can be made from fiberglass or graphite.

Fiberglass is more durable and has greater lifting power than graphite, which makes it a preference for larger fish such as tuna and yellowtail.

Graphite rods are more bait sensitive and work well for surf fishing and open water when bait is cast over a greater distance.

Expert Advice

Power: Rods may be classified as Ultra-Light, Light, Medium-Light, Medium, Medium-Heavy, Heavy, Ultra-Heavy, or other similar combinations.

Action: Affects your casting distance and accuracy, also relating to the lure or bait you need and the strength of the reel that should be used. The smaller the fish, the lighter the action that you'll need, while the heavier the fish, the heavier the action. An action may be slow, moderate, fast or a combination. Shop a wide selection of all-weather and ice fishing rods at DICK'S.